


Hope even on this side of the grave again

by RedWritingHood



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Corazon just wants his small stabby son to be happy, Dimension Travel, Gen, Happy Ending, Sappy Ending, also, but not for too long don't worry, it's a live one boys, no that's literally all he wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 05:24:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19940917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedWritingHood/pseuds/RedWritingHood
Summary: Falling back into the role of a Donquixote was easy; falling back into a life without Law was not.Or, there is a life after death. Rosinante wakes up in an alternate universe, with one major difference: Flevance isn't white, and there is no Amber Lead.





	Hope even on this side of the grave again

**Author's Note:**

> Lists, guys; I have so many feelings over Corazon and Law. I know it's been literally forever, but I've gotten back into One Piece and I am drowning in my emotions. I crave good father-son content between these two and I am _not getting it_. I want all of the fics, I _need_ them.  
> My soul hungers and protein bars aren't cutting it.  
> Let my clown dad and his grumpy doctor son be hAPPY
> 
> Story title comes from "To Noise Making (Sing)" by Hozier.

It's been ten years since Rosinante first woke from a dying body into a new one, unmarked by death, the timeline already a couple of years into his mission to take down his brother. Falling back into the role of a Donquixote was easy; falling back into a life without Law was not.

It's been nine years and eight months since he was still waking up, expecting to see Law's face.

It's been nine years and four months since he started expecting a little less.

It's been seven years since he realized that Law was never going to show up the way he had in Rosinante's last life, that he may very well never see Law again. And later, when he found that the White City of Flevance was vibrantly colorful and free of all Amber Lead, He knew that despite his previous fears, Law was still alive.

And he knew that he could not seek him out, no matter how painful, no matter how _lonely_ it was.

He would have been the most selfish person in the world if he tried.

It's been five years-- _five long, difficult years_ \--since he managed to get Doflamingo and the rest of his crew, minus the children, locked away in Impel Down.

It has been four years and six months since the Navy began spreading rumors of Rosinante's escape from prison, of his ruthlessness and bloodthirsty nature, as if he is more monster than man. His reputation builds quickly and travels far, and his superiors make good use of this. He has only been asked once if he wishes to be an official Marine again, but without Law, Rosinante has no purpose except as a double-agent.

Sengoku had accepted his refusal, and it has never been mentioned again.

It has been two years since his ship crossed paths with Flevance. He had barely been able to breathe, the yearning had been so powerful. The urge to go into the town, to look helplessly around for Law, had sunk deep into his bones, and it was only by the barest margin of willpower that he managed to watch it pass him by instead.

He'd known that it was a combination of love, determination, and fear that stayed his hand.

Love for Law.

Determination not to drag him into Rosinante's mess.

Fear that he would find him after all and Law would look at him and see exactly the kind of man that Rosinante's reputation claims him to be.

He would not be able to bear it if Law looked at him with fear. Not his little Law. Not the child who had tried so hard to conceal his pain with an anger and hatred that Rosinante himself had never been able to muster. Not the child who had called him " _Cora-san_ " with an affection that he struggled to hide, as if that one name would reveal his heart for everyone to see. Not the child who had only ever looked at him with fear for _Rosinante's_ life, never his own.

No, no, not him.

It would break Rosinante's heart.

It has been ten years, but it only took six months for Rosinante to come to love him as if Law were his own child. His own _son._

And maybe it's selfish, maybe Law wouldn't want that, but Rosinante has found that he can't think of him any other way.

Law lost the only family he ever had. Rosinante had wanted, more than anything, to give him one again. And now that this world has done that, he can only hope that Law would forgive him for the self-centered thoughts that he keeps of him.

He still sees Law every time he closes his eyes. Law's downturned mouth, as if he would never be happy again; his big, dark eyes. The look on his face when he first showed up, the loathing in his voice. The way that he would smile, shyly, like a flower blooming in the sun. The way that he would cry, silently at first, until he couldn't hold back his suffering anymore.

Law, with his tired eyes and his steady hands. Law, with his hunger for knowledge and his quiet resignation. Law, with his old soul and his startled laugh, as if never quite expecting it.

_Law, Law, Law_

It has been ten years, and the memories have been branded into his mind as if it were yesterday.

It has been ten years, and Rosinante has _missed_ _him_ for every single one of them.

It has been ten years, and it takes Rosinante one minute to realize that the pirate captain-- _wielding a sword, wearing an achingly familiar hat_ \--that is currently fighting alongside Rosinante's crew bears the same face as the child that he once knew.

And it has been ten years, but Rosinante could not forget him if he lived for a thousand more.

He's older, his skin darker than the pale, unhealthy tint in Rosinante's memory. There are no splotches of off-white on his body, no sign of Amber Lead ever having existed. His face is set in a focused scowl that was just as intimidating at thirteen as it is now. He's dressed in a long coat with a grinning yellow Jolly Roger imprinted on the back. The tail of the coat reaches past his knees, and it makes Rosinante wonder if he still gets cold just as easily as he gets angry.

He's only vaguely aware that his movements have slowed, that all it takes is a single distraction that could cost him his life, but he can't bring himself to care.

From across a sea of enemies and allies alike, their eyes meet.

Rosinante feels his heart stutter in his chest, and Law-- _violent, sarcastic, abrasive,_ _ **infinitely loveable**_ _Law_ \--tilts up one small corner of his mouth and calls out, "Looks like you could use a hand."

Rosinante could not have given him an answer if he tried.

Something presses against his lungs, stealing his breath, silencing any response he could have possibly had.

This is no time for an emotional crisis, but it's so _hard_ to remember that.

But then it turns out he doesn't have a choice. They're in the middle of battle, and he is quickly reminded of that when a sword just barely skims past the nape of his neck.

He snaps out of it, throwing himself back into the fight with renewed stength. His heart is racing and he just wants the battle to be over and done with, he's _desperate_ for it. He hits harder, stronger, his right hand wielding a sword, the other aiming a pistol, trying to get to Law's side with the intention of protecting his back.

It takes longer than it should, but Rosinante's reputation hasn't lasted this long because he gave up before anyone even won.

The sensation of having someone at his back isn't new, but the fact that it's _Law_ is an entirely different feeling than if it were Doflamingo or another Navyman.

It's only when everything is over, when the land is littered with bodies and blood, that it occurs to Rosinante there could have been a chance that Law may not have trusted a man at his back that countless newspapers and reports have described--succinctly--as a monster.

It also occurs to him to wonder exactly _why_ Law is now in a position to not trust a monster at his back in the first place.

With that in mind, he turns, intending to question Law about it. He opens his mouth, but it abruptly clicks shut when Rosinante sees his face.

Law is looking at him with an expression that he can't read. Nothing about Law tells him anything, and it makes him nervous, makes him wish he could just unstick his jaw and ask, " _Do you remember me, Law?_ " And " _Do you remember when we met? When you joined my brother's family?_ " And " _Do you remember when we went on a journey to save your life?_ "

And, " _Do you remember when I told you that I love you_ _?_ "

But he doesn't ask any of that.

He doesn't ask, because there is something blocking the words. He doesn't ask because Law speaks before he can.

Law says, "I've come a long way to find you."

His voice is not a child's any longer.

It has been ten years. Rosinante has barely spoken for any of them.

He says, raspy, like his smoking habit is fifty times worse than it is, " _You have_ _?_ "

Law sheaths his sword, tilts his head back to meet Rosinante's eyes. "I have. And now I have just one thing I want to ask you." His gaze is dark and direct, the way it always has been.

"What's that?" Rosinante says, faintly. His hands have started to shake. He automatically fumbles for his lighter, and cigarettes, barely able to hold either steady, and hoping that no one notices.

The moment he lights up a cigarette, the arm of his coat catches on fire.

It takes a second for anyone to realize what just happened, and then another second for Rosinante to begin frantically patting down the flames, and then a third for him to realize that there are two more hands helping him out.

Once the fire has been extinguished with minimal damage, Law's hand remains on Rosinante's arm. He's keenly aware of the weight of it, the warmth, and he finds himself holding his breath, looking up to gauge Law's reaction.

All of the air rushes out of his lungs.

Law is smiling. He says, "You never change, do you, Cora-san?"

Rosinante bursts into tears.

_____

Later, he'll be embarrassed about his reaction, and the fact that both of their crews saw all of it.

Right now, though, he has Law buried in his arms and is sobbing like a child.

"Cora-san. Cora-san," he can hear Law saying, a hand patting his back-- or at least, the part of it that Law can reach. "Calm down, you'll make yourself hyperventilate.

Rosinante gulps for air. "S-s-sorry."

"Don't apologize," Law says. "It's alright."

"I _missed_ you, Law."

"I know, Cora-san,," Law says. And again, "It's alright."

"I wanted to find you," he says, thickly. He shuts his eyes against the stinging, feels tears slip out anyway. "But I thought you'd be happy, with your family. I thought I'd mess up your life. I-I thought... I thought you wouldn't remember me."

Law's hand stills, and he pulls back enough to look up at Rosinante's wet face and red eyes. "You didn't mess up my life," he says. "I wouldn't have lived passed thirteen if not for you, we both know that. I barely lived passed ten." He watches Rosinante with shadowed, unsmiling eyes. "I never felt alive after Flevance; not until you stole me away from Doflamingo. You searched tirelessly for six months to find me a cure, and during that time, you never stopped trying to make me happy. Never stopped trying to give me a better life. You showed me that even after everything I'd lost, I could still have a family. _You_ were my family, Cora-san." His mouth gentles. "You still are."

Rosinante didn't think that he could cry any harder, but he is quickly proven wrong.

He touches Law's cheek, tears falling like rain. "Do you remember what I said?" He asks. "Do you remember what I said to you that day?"

Law reaches up to catch Rosinante's hand, and then doesn't let go. "Yes," he says. His lips shape a smile, and it's the _exact same_ , blooming into the light. "I remember," he says.

"I love you too, Cora-san," Law says.

" _Oh_ ," Rosinante says. Then, "Even after I left you?"

Law's fingers tighten around his. "You never left me. And it wouldn't matter if you did. I carried you with me all the same."

"Oh," Rosinante says, softer now. His eyes are bright from more than tears when he asks, "And you... won't mind if I stay? For longer this time?"

"I think," Law says, "that I would not mind at all."

Rosinante's own smile blooms, and there is a _rightness_ that expands his ribcage and settles there, as if he has been waiting for this all the years of his new life. "Okay," he says, squeezing Law's hand once before slowly releasing it. "Thank you."

Law takes his hand back, his expression changing to one of almost fond exasperation. "You don't need to thank me, idiot. Just stay."

"Sorry," Rosinante says, presses his lips together in an attempt to stop his helpless smiling.

"And don't apologize either."

"Sorry," he says again, shoulders shaking with nearly-silent laughter.

Law shakes his head, a faint, reluctant smile curling the edges of his mouth. "Come on. Idiot. Let's go." He takes a step back and turns to walk towards his ship.

Rosinante quickly falls into step beside him, close enough that he just barely brushes against Law's shoulder. "Where to?" he asks.

Law flicks a glance up at him, shrugs. "Wherever we want."

It's the most perfect answer that Rosinante has ever heard.


End file.
